The Pressure to Be Extraordinary: A Reflection on School Billboards

A row of billboards caught my attention today morning. I live in an area densely populated with ‘International schools.’ Had I never noticed them before? Or maybe my thoughts were clouded by the recent loss of an EY employee, pulling me back to my deschooling mindset. The billboards featured children on paper planes and rockets, soaring high, demonstrating extraordinary skills—like balance and trapeze work—meant to amaze.

It made me wonder: why do we always highlight taglines about geniuses being born and future visionaries being crafted in these spaces, accompanied by these exceptional images? What about the mundane, the average, the kids who don’t want to soar high? Why don’t we see advertisements for schools where it’s okay to fail, to stay grounded, and to be ordinary?

Perhaps if we celebrated that, we wouldn’t need to spend so much time grounding and therapizing later in life. Maybe we could learn to reject undue stress and pressures and simply choose a life that feels right for ourselves.

I asked a client how he felt about the recent incident, and he responded, “Nine months ago, I would have said people should choose their burdens carefully, but after therapy and reflection, I realize how easy it is to lose your way.” I was moved by his insight. There’s always the option to say no!

And after a few meters, I did see a billboard of kids playing football and performing drama, the billboard looked mundane, with no fancy tags and it made me smile!

Share with me if you felt the same: School